TK to Build New Service Center in San Luis Potosi
By
Metal Center News Staff on
Sep 21, 2022
thyssenkrupp Materials Services will invest $37 million on a new service center facility at its Materials de Mexico division in San Luis Potosi. The facility is designed to support the growing automotive industry in the region.
"The needs and requirements of the industry are changing rapidly," said Martin Stillger, CEO of thyssenkrupp Materials Services. "Against the background of the major transformation themes of electro-mobility, sustainability and supply chain resilience, Mexico is a clear growth market for us. Here we can support customers with our Materials as a Service strategy precisely in these key areas."
In total, thyssenkrupp Materials Services has invested around $102 million in the North American market in the last 12 months.
The centerpiece of the new location is a Schuler blanking line used to cut aluminum and high-strength steel blanks for the automotive industry. Due to its low weight, aluminum helps to reduce emissions and is often used prominently in electric vehicles.
The automotive industry is responding to increasing demand brought on by the faster transition to electric mobility and stricter emission standards planned by the U.S. government. For the Mexican suppliers, the USA is by far the biggest sales market – around 80 percent of sales are generated in this region.
“With the opening of the plant, we will be able to further expand our unique position in this pre-processing service in the Mexican market,” says Olaf Voss, CEO of thyssenkrupp Materials de Mexico. “We appreciate the good collaboration with the Secretariat of Economic Development of San Luis Potosí on this important project.”
The new site in San Luis Potosí will join with the company’s existing service center in Silao, located around 125 miles away, which already has an aluminum blanking line. All aluminum blanks for the auto industry not produced at these sites will have to be imported as prefabricated parts from the United States.